Ryukyu Republic
The Ryukyu Republic is a postwar country and one of the four main successor states of Japan along with the postwar Japanese state, the Communist Party of Japan, and The Shogunate. History , Blue- Ryukyu Republic, Red- Communist Party of Japan, Yellow- The Shogunate, Orange- Far Eastern Republic. Pre-war prefectural lines included for reference purposes.]] Pre-war Origins The Ryukyu Islands were a culturally distinct region with their own language and culture, however, they have a long history of invasion, domination, and sometime violence at the hands of foreign powers. The islands were an independent kingdom until 1609, when the Satsuma Domain of Kyushu invaded the islands, making them a tributary state, forced to pay tribute to both Japan and China and their ability to conduct foreign trade being restricted. In 1879, during the Meiji restoration, the Japanese government annexed the islands and expelled the king. The islands remained in Japanese hands until 1945, when the Japanese were ousted by US forces during the Battle of Okinawa during World War II. During the battle, the Japanese committed atrocities against the Okinawan civilian population, most notably the massacre or forced mass suicide of civilians. Both the Japanese and Americans committed rapes against Okinawan women. When the Americans took over the islands after the war, this only further fueled resentment against both the mainland Japanese and the Americans, leading to the formation of the Ryukyu Independence Party, who first posed the idea of a Ryukyu Republic and first designed the flag the pre-war nation would one day fly. In spite of calls for independence, the US returned the islands to Japan in 1972, and the independence movement continued to exist under Japanese control until the Third Sino-Japanese War. During the war, Okinawan civilians experienced yet more atrocities, this time at the hands of the Chinese, including countless rapes and massacres. While Okinawan resistance fighters fought alongside US and JSDF troops in the Liberation of Japan, the Okinawans nonetheless remained resentful of the foreigners, though by this point the main target of their hatred was the Chinese. On the October 22nd, 2077, the Ryukyus were a war-torn powder keg of resentment waiting for a spark... Great War and Aftermath On October 24th, 2077, JST (due to the International Date Line, the Great War occurred one day later in Japan), Chinese ICBMs and bombers struck at several major Japanese cities and military bases. About 10 minutes after US and JSDF forces lost contact with Tokyo, Naha, the capital and largest city on Okinawa, as well as the site of a major US military base, was hit by two nuclear warheads, one in the city center, and one at Kadena Air Force Base. Over 400,000 people were killed instantly, and, in the coming weeks, an estimated 200,000 succumbed to radiation poisoning. The detonations annihilated the main military bases, and with it, killed most of the JSDF and US military personnel in the Ryukyu Islands. Immediately, the region was plunged into chaos, with widespread looting and violence as survivors fought over the remaining food and other supplies. During this period of violence, perhaps as many as another 200,000 people died. In addition to fighting over food, much of the violence on the island was between Okinawans and mainland Japanese and the few surviving Americans and Chinese (albeit the latter of whom were represented only by a few downed bomber crews and POWs), who, feeding of centuries old resentments, blamed the foreigners for the destruction of their homes and the deaths of their families. By 2080, the few survivors of gathered into small enclaves, the largest of which were located in the ruins of Shuri Castle in Naha, and in the city of Okinawa. The group in Shuri Castle consisted of pre-war Ryukyu Separatists that had been active in the resistance during the Chinese occupation prior to the liberation of island. This group was led by a man who identified himself as "Sho Hashi", after the first king of the Ryukyu Kingdom, an independent kingdom that existed from 1429 to 1879. Hashi declared the founding of the New Ryukyu Kingdom in 2084, and began forcibly subjugating the surrounding enclaves of survivors, often killing any Americans or persons he suspected to be of Chinese or non-Ryukyuan Japanese ancestry. The Okinawa enclave, calling themselves the Okinawa Provisional Government, were a mix of Okinawan civilians, JSDF solders, and surviving US soldiers and Marines. The main leaders of the group were Shuji Sanaga, another former Okinawan Resistance leader and post-liberation mayor of Okinawa city, Captain Misaki Umezu, commander of the surviving JSDF frigate Harekaze, and Lt. Colonel Thomas Spaulding, the highest ranking surviving US military officer in the area. On November 6th, 2082, the New Ryukyu Kingdom and the Okinawa Provisional Government inevitably came into conflict, when Sho Hashi ordered his army, which included a sizeable force armed with hardware scavenged from surviving military installations, mostly handheld weapons, but also significant numbers of armored vehicles, including M75 and Mitsubishi Type 47 main battle tanks and Type 31 Armored Combat Suits. In spite of this firepower, the Okinawan Provisional Government were even better armed, possessing a larger number of tanks and other fighting vehicles, the frigate Harekaze, several VTOL CV-80 and Fuji Umidori VTOL aircraft, as well as numerous better-trained ex-US and JSDF personnel. For this reason, the November attack failed after being hit by heavy fire from OPG armored vehicles and Harekaze, killing over 1400 NRK troops. Eighty OPG soldiers, as well as over 250 civilians were killed in the battle, the latter mostly by inexpertly aimed New Ryukyu Kingdom artillery and mortar fire. The New Ryukyu Kingdom launched a second attack on November 22nd, by launching a suicide boat attack with the aim of sinking or at least disabling the Harekaze. The attack ultimately failed, and the attacking boats were all sunk using the frigate's 76mm cannon and point defense lasers. The OPG forces retaliated by shelling and launching VTOL-borne rocket attacks on Shuri Castle and other NRK targets, and launching attacks against on the New Ryukyu Kingdom forward positions and taking the only remaining highway between Okinawa City and Naha on December 4th, 2082. By January of 2083, however, OPG ground advances had been slowed by heavy urban combat in the ruins of Urasoe, northeast of Naha. Nonetheless, the OPG completely controlled the sea and skies, allowing them to limit food supplies by sinking or capturing all of the fishing fleet supplying the NRK. Nonetheless, the New Ryukyu Kingdom kept fighting even after February 4th, 2083, when Shuri Castle fell to OPG forces. Sho Hashi would escape the fall of the castle, and the remains of the NRK would eventually be pushed to the southwest corner of Okinawa, in the mountains near Sashiki Castle. After being surrounded for two months, on April 7th, 2083, Sho Hashi committed suicide and the NRK resistance largely collapsed. The conflict would become known as the Okinawan Civil War. By 2087, the Okinawa Provisional Government had effectively pacified the island of Okinawa, and in 2090, the first post-war elections were held and the Republic of Okinawa was founded. In 2093 and 2094, the inhabitants of the small islands surrounding Okinawa, who has previously survived as subsistence fishermen joined the Republic. In 2097, the Amami Islands voted the join the Republic. At this point, it was officially renamed the Ryukyu Republic. The pre-war flag of the Ryukyu Independence movement was chosen as the flag of the new republic over the flag of the Ryukyu Kingdom as it had negative connotations, having been previously used as the emblem of the New Ryukyu Kingdom. Miyako-jima joined the Republic in 2104, Ishigaki-jima in 2114, and Yonaguni-jima in 2121. Emergence of a Trade Network Starting in the 2090s, the Ryukyu island became the center of a thriving sea trading economy. Initially, trade was limited to trade between the islands of the Ryukyus, as well as surviving settlements in Kyushu, however, by 2110, Ryukyuan sailor were regularly sailing along the east coast of Japan, traveling as far north as Sapporo, the capital of the postwar remnants of the Japanese government. These ships would trade crops such as sugar cane, oranges, and pineapples, which could not be grown in the cold climate of Hokkaido, effectively reintroducing these (along with various forms of "mutfruit" derived from mutated versions of the aforementioned crops) to the region. The Ryukyuan ships would return with pre-war manufactured goods, which were more common in Hokkaido and northern Honshu, or goods produced in newly revived factories in Sapporo, Hakodate, and Aomori. This trade relationship would continue into the 2200s, and is still active as of 2300. Ryukyuan traders would also regularly sail to various postwar settlements in the Philippines, Taiwan, eastern China, Korea, and far eastern Russia, primarily Vladivostok, creating a trade network throughout the northeast Pacific. Some Ryukyuan ships would on occasion sail as far as Indonesia, Australia, India, and even Cascadia and the New California Republic in search of new markets and goods to trade. The Ryukyu War Throughout the late 22nd century and well into 2200, tensions between the Ryukyu Republic and the Communist Party of Japan over passage and control of the East China Sea. The CPJ claimed administration over the East China Sea while the Ryukyu Republic claimed that the sea was neutral and that they could send ships to travel. Ryukyuan ships were being raided by Communist vessels and when shots were fired between CPJ and Ryukyuan forces, the CPJ officially declared war on the Ryukyu Republic and sent forces to capture the islands sparking the Ryukyu War in May of 2201. On May 4th, 2201, the Japanese Liberation Army Navy deployed fleet led by a pre-war destroyer and two frigates against the Ryukyuan Island of Amami Oshima, beginning the Battle of Amami Ōshima. The larger CPJ force destroyed over 20 converted civilian ships and a pre-war missile boat, and damaged a pre-war frigate of the Ryukyuan Maritime defense force, forcing it to retreat along with the remains of the Ryukyuan fleet. The CPJ lost nine vessels, all converted civilian ships in the battle, but were able to take control of the waters around Amami Oshima and landing on the island of Amami, Kikai-shima, and Tokuno-shima. Tokuno-shima and Kikai-shima quickly fell, however, the 4000 or so Ryukyu defense forces troops on the island inflicted heavy casualties on the CPJ forces in a fighting retreat across the island. On May 8th, the CPJ force pushed the RDF back to the Tatsugo Isthmus, connecting the easternmost part of the island to the rest of the island. The Isthmus acted as a chokepoint, holding for a week before falling on May 14th. On May 26th, the CPJ finally pushed into the city of Amami. The CPJ landed more troops on the western end of the island, and eventually secured the main roads by the 5th of June, though Ryukyuan holdouts remained in the mountains of the island until the CPJ withdrew as mandated by the Okinawa Peace Accords on the 21st of August. The Japanese State intervened not long after and came in to aid the Ryukyuan military after it was suffering heavy casualties fighting against the Japanese People's Army Navy and later its ground forces when they successfully landed on the southern coasts of Okinawa, the largest area of the republic on June 25th. The intervention of the Japan Self-Defense Forces helped save the Ryukyu Republic from collapse, but the JSDF had to send ground troops against the CPJ's 18th Army and the Ryukyu Defense Forces was forced to fight costly defensive operations. The Japanese-Ryukyuan forces managed to halt the advance of the 18th Army after capturing central parts of Okinawa, but had to fight off the last major offensive, the Okinawa Offensive, and inflict enough losses on the communists to force them to sue for peace and withdraw. In June, the offensive was launched and the communists gained ground, but a combination of high casualties, strained supply lines and attacks on naval forces eventually halted the advance and the JLA was forced to retreat and evacuate from the coasts to avoid the encirclement and destruction of the 18th Army. Peace was eventually established following the signing and ratification of the Okinawa Peace Accords on August 21st, 2201. Government Military Main Article: Ryukyu Defense Forces The Ryukyu Defense Forces is the standing defensive armed forces of the Ryukyu Republic. It was formed not long after the creation of the republic and is an all-volunteer force made up of citizens from the Ryukyu Islands including indigenous natives, ethnic Japanese, and the descendants of American soldiers stranded on the island during the Great War. Much of the RDF's structure and equipment are leftovers from the Sino-American War, mainly surviving pre-war JSDF and American hardware, but also uses post-war creations and makeshift weapons and equipment, which is commona mong the RDF like other post-war armies. The RDF is a defensive fighting force and is mandated to only protect its territories and limit cross-border engagements. After making contact with the postwar Japanese State along with other nations such as Cascadia and the NCR, the RDF has been able to acquire weapons, vehicles and other hardware from said countries through trade with the Japanese State being its primary trading partner. Category:Post-War Countries Category:Post-War Factions